Caddyshack (1980)

Originally an ANIMAL HOUSE of golf, directed by its co-writer, Harold Ramis, CADDYSHACK morphed into an eclectic comedy starring four comic actors that - had the rudimentary vision sustained - probably would have been random guest appearances amid the shack-dwelling youngsters... Although a 'teen' is still the main character - the straight-man pawn, Michael O'Keefe as Danny Noonan, with one of the best natural golf swings recorded on film (most actors have horrible swings even when playing pros). After an opening credit bicycle ride from a crowded and noisy, low class home, he passes a strip of mansions to classy Bushwood Country Club backed by Kenny Loggins' smooth party anthem I'm Alright: bridging a grainy late-70's yacht rock groove into the preppy vs anti-preppy decade to come...Then Danny winds in and out of misadventures including an attempt to appeal to Ted Knight's stuffy Judge Smails for a possible college scholarship while faithfully caddying his mentor in Chevy Chase's quirky millionaire Ty Webb, sharing the most subtle yet hilarious moments in-between butting heads with cool cat Italian bully Scott Colomby, the other "kid" whose role wasn't diminished to a cameo. The R-Rating is earned between our caddy and one of the hottest of underrated and underused starlets, Cindy Morgan, far more beautiful and interesting than Laurie Metcalf as Danny's knocked-up girlfriend (using a bad accent of some kind), whose bland romantic melodrama should've been left on the cutting room floor...Meanwhile, Bill Murray, despite the overall popularity of his character, isn't at his best here, chasing a stuffed gopher that, getting around cooler and funnier than CGI, seems a nod to b-movies that can't afford any better... With his bottom lip hanging to pilot a contrived manner of speech, in place of his MEATBALLS (and future STRIPES and GHOSTBUSTERS) glib confidence, Murray's assistant groundskeeper, Carl, seeming part of an SNL skit stretched too long. Leaving ultimate fan-favorite Rodney Dangerfield as a condo developer who insults anyone within verbal/audible reach - the epitome of a scene-stealer... While we see Bushwood through the vulnerable young eyes of O'Keefe's Danny Noonan, it's Dangerfield's cocky Al Czervik who provides both the Roman Chorus and an unintentional narration, from start to finish, in a perfectly timed 97-minute ride.

I must be missing something as I see nothing but praise in other reviews, but for me this film would have been far better without the obnoxious Bill Murray character. I found him totally boring and totally unnecessary. All the other characters were great. Quite funny but certainly no classic.

Just a few lines about a great, funny, sunny movie that makes me laugh every single time I see it. I think Harold Ramis' Caddyshack works like a big, joyous block party. You can't help but like every single character, every moment of crude and lewd, right down to Brian Doyle-Murray telling a caddie to "Pick up that blood!"I think Caddyshack's peer, John Landis' Animal House is a funnier movie because of the chances it takes spearing sacred cows, but Caddyshack may be the smoother-frothier?-film because it avoids lagging at the start of the third reel, something that Landis throws in to build up steam for his big, obnoxious cherry-bomb-in-the- toilet ending. Caddyshack just ambles along, all big-heart and Lacy Underalls. Animal House is, at its core, something serious. There's an edge to the humor and to the end-of-Camelot story. I wrote a long review of AH some years ago. The boys and girls at Faber College ("Knowledge is Good!") are about to smacked upside the head by the hideous specter of Vietnam. It's their last moments of freedom before the history arrives unannounced.Both have that feel of reading something hysterically funny in National Lampoon, and danged if it doesn't feel as if everyone is working his or her butt off to come up with a really good, really funny work of renegade art. What I've noticed about Caddyshack is that the power of Bill Murray ad-libbing his way through his duties as an assistant groundskeeper has, for the better part of forty years, provided inspiration for Caddyshackers to twist their mouths into a Joe Walsh mumble and utter the victorious cry, "It's in the hole!"It's what cultures are built on . . . I think.

Well, well, well, finally the time has come and I've watched this so acclaimed comedy. First of all I consider myself a Bill Murray fan, I've enjoyed somewhat Chavy Chase and Roger Dangerfield's work, so the fact I had never watched Caddyshack until now was becoming a sense of guilt. Damn, I had read reviews saying this is one of the best comedies of the eighties. So, after watching Caddyshack I only could shake my head and tried to understand how this can be one of the funniest movies ever. I can't make heads or tails of this film, I mean, it feels like it was made of different sketches with no solid or unified script,and full of wasted actors (Bill Murray is like useless) or plain bad acting (Chavy Chase), gratuitous nudity (ok, eighties comedy I know) and a terrible pacing. Nonetheless I can't say this is the worst movie I've ever seen, it's enjoyable till certain point, but in no way this is one of the best comedies around.